The Family Justice Center of Erie County and the YWCA at
1005 Grant St. have formed a partnership for
victims of domestic violence on the West Side.
Mary Travers Murphy, director of the Family Justice Center, said the
partnership will provide a drop-in center specifically catering to people of the
West Side. The center at the YWCA will offer safety
planning, counseling, legal and law enforcement assistance.
The partnership should be up and running within the next
couple of months.
The collaboration allows for better access to services for
residents of the West Side who otherwise are not able or willing to travel to
the Justice Center’s downtown location at 438 Main St.
Travers Murphy said that residents have difficulty with transportation
downtown, which entails riding two different buses, and find the area overwhelming to navigate.
“We realized we’re not seeing a lot of people from that
community, they're not comfortable coming downtown, but we’re told that there
is a great need for information and education and help for people of different
cultures who may be in domestic violence relationships,” Travers Murphy said.
The Family Justice Center is working hand in hand with the
social workers at the YWCA to provide individualized, client-specific services
with special sensitivity to their cultural background. All services are
confidential.
“We had a very interesting opportunity, so we figured
something out and we ran with it,” Travers Murphy said. By Tara Hark and Max Wagner
